(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Building a PC Guide and Templates


Contents:
Page 1: Intro
Page 2: Motherboards
Page 3: CPU
Page 4: GPU
Page 5: RAM
Page 6: Power Supply
Page 7: Hard Drive
Page 8: Cases
Page 9: Cooling
Page 10: Templates

Throughout this guide the only site I will be using is: You must login or register to view this content.
I find it to be the best site for people to buy parts from in Europe.
The general info will still apply to US readers, but you will have to find the parts yourself on Newegg (the best US site).

If you would like your template added to the templates page PM me with one and the price of said template.

I hope the guide helps you and feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.

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Page 2: Motherboards

When choosing a motherboard, you need to take into consideration, the make, the socket, and how much you want your motherboard to do.

Make: Personally, I like ASRock the best. This generation of CPUs ASRock has really upped their game, surpassing everyone in quality and have the best track record for P67/Z68 motherboards and are doing great with the current Z77 motherboards too. However, ASUS a sister company of ASRock are also very good, deliver equal if not slightly better quality boards but do have a slightly higher price on their boards that some argue is not worth over the ASRock boards.

Socket: The most common socket for most Intel builds is 1155/1156. I myself only have experience with Intel builds, they are far superior to AMD builds. The 1155/1156 sockets are used in all the common i3/i5/i7 CPUs such as the i3 2120, the i5 2500k, or the i7 2600k. It is also used in the new Ivy Bridge chips so it is definitely a socket worth investing in as it is highly upgradable and has a very large variety of third party coolers.
Note: Just incase anyone is confused, not every CPU will fit the 1155/1156 socket, make sure this socket matches your CPU before buying one of these boards.

Features: Do you plan to crossfire/sli your card in the future? If so, you may as well buy a board that is capable of doing it first rather then upgrading to one later. These boards can be a bit more expensive than your normal single card boards.

My suggestions:

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Cheap, and good Quality. It is not capable of crossfire/sli. Socket: 1155

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Very cheap, still good quality and IS capable of crossfire/sli. Socket: 1155

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Getting a little bit dearer, great quality, boasts lots of great features and IS capable of crossfire/sli. Socket: 1155

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Brilliant quality board, great features, however it is not crossfire/sli capable. Socket: 1155

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Another amazing board, lots of features too, this board is for the more expensive CPUs and is not crossfire/sli capable. Socket: 2011

If you are unsure about what socket your CPU requires feel free to PM me. I highly recommend getting a CPU that fits a 1155 socket.

Warning: All of these boards are ATX sized (normal sized ), they will fit in most cases however if you are building a PC with a M-atx/m-itx build be sure to get the micro version of these boards.

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Central Processing Unit

When choosing a CPU you have the choice between AMD, or Intel. AMD are known for cheaper, but less powerful CPUs, and Intel are known for their great quality, great performance CPUs at a higher price. Personally, I always go with Intel. Much better, and offers many more upgrade paths in the future.

I don't know a lot about AMD CPUs as I don't read up on them as I'm not interested in them, so if somebody wants to do a section on that go for it and I'll add it in.

Intel:
When choosing your CPU you want to decide then and there what you plan on doing with your PC. For general use, or gaming a cheap, good CPU would be an i3 2120. Many people don't bother with this as they think because its an i3 CPU it isn't good. Thats not the case, you will not see a huge increase in FPS with the i3 2120 compared to an i5 2500k, which brings us on to that.
The i5 2500k, this is the most common CPU people building a PC choose, its not that expensive but is great quality, and delivers outstanding performance and allows some serious overclocking. Both of these CPUs use socket 1155.

If you want to do video editing, I'd recommend you take a look at the i7 2600k, this CPU offers all the features of the i5 2500k but also has hyperthreading which provides a great boost in rendering times. However, if you are not going to be video editing don't bother with this CPU. Many people think its better because its an i7, but again, not the case.

Ivy Bridge.
Ivy Bridge is the successor to the very successful SandyBridge CPUs. The Ivy Bridge CPUs offer similar features as SB, but clock for clock provide much better performance. These CPUs also have the latest Intel Integrated Graphics 4000 which is roughly 50% better than the Integrated Graphics in SandyBridge. However, when getting an Ivy Bridge CPU, it is best to take into consideration a third party cooler. The Ivy Bridge CPUs run slightly hotter than SandyBridge, so getting a good cooler is advised.

Suggestions:

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Simple, Cheap, good performance CPU for general use or gaming.

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Great performance, fair price, for general use or high end gaming.

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This is the most popular Ivy Bridge CPU, best performing of all the above, and a fair price. Good cooler is advised. For general use, high end gaming.

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Great performance, price is getting higher now, not worth it unless you plan on doing heavy editing. For general use, high end gaming, editing.

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Graphics Card

Sorry for not updating, am abroad for the next few days and will finish the rest when I get home.

Really nice post I appreciate your help !